Reviews

Understudies by Ravi Mangla

drewsof's review against another edition

4.0

I dig Mangla's way with words and he's a writer to watch, for sure. This book reminds me a bit, the more I think about it, as a slightly less weird cousin to Patrick deWitt's Ablutions - they both tap into a similar vein of nameless insecurity, but in an enjoyable fashion. It's a quick read and while you may not remember the book itself too long after reading it, I hope that you'll remember the author. May he have his own Sisters Brothers coming down the line (in terms of success, that is).

More at RB: http://wp.me/pGVzJ-Sj

avitalgadcykman's review against another edition

5.0

This segmented book/book in flash or, in short, mosaic of complementary stories is extremely satisfying in the way it brings in the various aspect of being a celebrity and wanting to be one. The sadness of living to feel celebrated and the disappointing fleeting moments of a semi-breaking-through take the narrator and the reader to a world-not-worth -living where feelings depend on watching and being watched. Even the authenticity of emotion is tested in the light of centering around an actress who has "made it" and is "given" to the narrator's heartbreak when she is not conscious but in a coma.